Food Provision Storing by Xylophagous Termites in Amazonia (Isoptera: Nasutitermitidae)

Nasutitermes macrocephalus (Silvestri 1903) is a wood-feeding termite species which occurs in white water floodplain forests (várzea forests) of the Amazon. Its carton nests are built on trees, which guarantees survival of the termite colony during the flood. In young nests, peculiar ball-shaped conglomerates of fecal material are found. Traces of feeding activity indicate that they are food stocks used during the flood. Similar congregations have been described for other termite species from different parts of the world, but their role as provision stocks had not always been recognized